Taking Over the Realm
by RutsuSatoshi
Summary: L disagrees with the King of the Shinigami and decides to make good use of his time in the Realm... What was that Light? A little bird told you...? Read and find out


**Taking over the Realm**

The first thing the more or less dead detective noticed was the bleakness of his new surroundings. How predictable. He yawned and stretched his body, which for some reason was exactly as he last had it when still very much alive. Some of the Shinigami that had gathered to the same grand entrance in order to visit the Shinigami King, were eyeing him warily. Guarding the gates were at least a dozen skeleton men. Though guarding it seemed redundant, since no one was eager to go through the enormous doors.

Two of the skeleton men sauntered towards L. They tugged at the hem of his shirt and motioned for him to follow.

"Of course, no vocal chords." L mused.

The hallway that followed the gates was other then huge, also dimly lit. It didn't matter, since the skeleton men turned out to glow in the dark.

The throne on which the King sat, was made out of something that resembled a tyrannosaur's head, draped with skins of creatures yet to be defined. This Shinigami King looked like he was about to fall asleep of boredom, his right hand supporting his head, leaning heavily on said hand. A raven resting on his shoulder carefully nudged him with his beak. His crimson eyes now alert, were staring intently at the young man standing in front of his throne.

L scraped his throat. "Greetings, Great Shinigami King" the detective started, choosing his words carefully " However pleased I am to meet you, I do think there has been a mistake."

The King leaned forward, elbows leaning on either knee, both of his hands cupping his head. A raspy voice answered.

"Ah, Ryuk has caused me more trouble than he could ever have foreseen." He then chuckled, a sound that obviously didn't come naturally to the Great King.

"You came in contact with Shinigami and Death Notes, yes?"

L nodded. "But I did not make use of that tool to commit murder."

The King leaned back a bit, stretched his arms and said with some finality:

"Then you see the dilemma."

L sighed. His shoulders slumped. Still, he needed things to make sense. So he did what he did best.

"For the sake of this argument, yes, I can. Even though I did not use the Death Note, I did come in contact with the notebook, and therefore the Shinigami, apparently disabling the possibility for me to go to heaven or hell."

The King nodded, pleased that the lad was quick in understanding this Realm's logic. The small smile that had started to form immediately faded when the detective continued.

"But technically, I did not use the Death Note, - see how I stress the word not?- , still I was brought to the Realm of the Shinigami, unable to move to either heaven or hell. To me, this does not make sense."

"You tire me, young man. Can't you be grateful you didn't disappear into the Great Nothingness? "

"It is L, or Ryuuzaki, for I do not feel like a young man. Time is but a concept. I do not claim to be old, nor do I possess a wisdom that can only come with age, but I rather not be called 'young man'. I have always thought that phrase to be condescending."

The King's eyes that were crimson but a minute ago, turned into a violent red, making L realise his little outburst hadn't gone over well with the Great King. Also, his own outburst puzzled him. Being in the Realm of the Shinigami seemed to have made him prone to emotional irrationality.

Before the King could explode into a tirade, L started to apologise.

He bowed down, on his knees, hoping the King could forgive his outburst.

"You are the Great King of the Shinigami Realm, and I hereby humbly apologise." L concluded.

The King sighed at the sight. The Gods knew how bored he was. It had been ages since anyone dared to speak up to him. Ryuk caused a delightful little mess. The Raven whispered into his ear and he smiled. It was all so deliciously clear.

"Ryuuzaki, you are to be our guest in our Realm, until we have found a more permanent solution."

With a flick of his hand, L was dismissed and the skeleton men escorted him back out again.

…

"Another card please." L commanded sternly while sitting in his familiar squatting position. His thumb caressed his lower lip while staring at the cards in his hands.

With a triumphant smile, he places his cards on the make-shift table, earning him a few annoyed groans from his fellow gamblers.

"If I understand the rules correctly, I have won yet again. Now, hand over my winnings, if you please." L stretched out his hand, collecting a couple of Death Notes, doubles of course, and tucked those safely away into his bag, which used to be his sweater.

"It is no fun playing with you, Ryuuzaki." One of the gamblers muttered and left disillusioned.

"Coulda seen it comin' yknow. Still had ter play." The second grinned a lopsided grin. He shrugged and bumped the third with his elbows. "Lucky I still ave those apples, eh?"

The third, a slimey Shinigami, with too many tongues in his mouth wondered aloud how many the King would need.

"Thirteen 's still 'is price." The second answered.

"Apples? For the King? Of course. Addiction does not discriminate. Interesting."

"Oi lad, what are ya up ter now?" Number Two asked, trying to look innocent, but failing miserably.

The slimey one joined in. "You already have over 12 Death Notes. And I am not sure whether all of them are doubles. For instance, I haven't seen Nu ever since you had this long conversation with him."

L shrugged. "I only pointed out the pointlessness of his existence. What he decided to do with his existence is not any of my concern."

Number Two chuckled. "Ya are a dangerous one, you are." He nodded, mostly to confirm his own train of thoughts. "The King 'll be glad ter get rid of you, me thinks."

He took a step into L's direction but the slimey one stopped him.

"If you are thinking about doing what I am thinking you were planning on doing, I should stop, since the King mandated for him to be unharmed. He is a guest." Slimey Shinigami reminded Number Two. "We could always voice our...concerns..." He suggested.

"If you could, I would be grateful." L mentioned, turned around and sat down next to Arrivol, one of the bony Shinigami immersed into the word of the living.

"It's like watching television, I imagine." Arrivol asked after noticing L perched next to him.

L nodded, thumb caressing his lips, something he did more often now that he was in a Realm with a different set of rules to the ones he knew and somewhat understood.

After sitting in silence for what seemed like hours, L asked if he would like to find out for himself. What it would be like amongst the living.

Arrivol looked op, face puzzled.

"I have heard about you, you know." He started, every word spoken in a very steady and deliberate manner. He squinted his eyes. "I will not be tricked into giving you my notebook."

"I want no such thing." L said matter of factly. "On the contrary, I wish to give you one of my own. I have plenty, you see." He showed him the contents of his former sweater- now bag.

"Ooh...you have been busy, you naughty man!" Arrivol declared. "That's a lot more than most think you have."

He thought about the offer L was making. His nose was all scrunched up from thinking things through. Eventually he asked:

"And there is no catch? You want nothing in return? I can simply drop one of your many newly acquired notebooks, and explore the Realm of the Living?"

"No strings attached. Only one favour to ask."

"No strings he says...alright then, let me hear the favour first." Arrivol laughed. L scooted over a little closer and whispered:

"If you could pay Yagami Light a visit and tell him that his favourite detective is waiting for him, you would do me a great favour."

Arrivol was starting to understand what was on the strange man's mind. He started laughing again. Partly because of the prospect of going to the Realm of the Living, and partly because the fun this message would create for the Shinigami watching the other Realm.

He patted the detective on his back.

"Agreed, I will do you this favour. Sounds like something Ryuk would find interesting."

"Ah yes, Ryuk. If you meet him, do send him my regards." L said while giving Arrivol one of his notebooks.

It wasn't long after Arrivol had left that two skeleton man came wobbling to where L was resting. Just before they were about to beckon him, he stood up, dusted off his pants and met the two.

"Yes, I know, I must follow you. Correct?" He sighed. Without waiting for one of the skeleton man to nod, he started walking.

The King tried to hide his contentment at seeing this strange young man again. He tried to look stern, and eventually settled on bored. A look he didn't need to practice.

L bowed and waited for the King to speak.

"It has come to my attention that you are creating quite the havoc in our Realm." He started. His raven flew in and sat itself on his shoulder.

"Stealing Death Notes...tssk tssk tssk...really now, this must stop."

L kneeled and said:

"Great King, although it is true that I have acquired some notebooks, I did not steel them. I merely won those."

The King frowned at that. To be gambling these precious items away seemed like an insult to his hard work. Anyone with a spare Death Note was supposed to return it to him, the Great King of the Shinigami Realm. Apparently, there were more notebooks on the market than he had anticipated.

"Ryuuzaki, I warn you. You will no longer participate in any matters of the gambling kind. Understood?"

"Yes King, perfectly." L turned to leave but stopped and faced the King again.

"If the King would be so kind as to inform me of any progress that has been made on my...case?"

The Raven whispered into the King's ear.

"A council of Gods has been assembled. They are discussing your case as we speak. I will travel to where they are meeting within a few days to let them know what my own conclusions are."

L bowed and followed the skeleton men out through the gates.

Not far from the gates, L found a dry patch of grass where no one would bother him for a while. The King was about to move. His case was finally up. He had to make his next move a little sooner than anticipated. It didn't matter. Everything was already put into motion. All he had to do now, was get his hands on a lot of apples. And he knew just the Shinigami to go to.

The Great King of the Shinigami Realm demanded to close the gates. "I want none of those whining little snots that are supposed to be Shinigami disturbing my special moment." The skeleton men complied, because, really, what could they do? It was but the Great One's magic that kept their bones moving.

"Now, bring me my tray of apples!" he ordered. One after the other disappeared into the King's mouth. He did not stop until the tray was empty. The slimey Shinigami had promised him more for breakfast. In return, he wanted the King to plea to the Gods for Ryuuzaki's placement into the Realm of Absolutely Nothing. This was of course a ridiculous command, the Gods would not go for that. He knew the Council better than any of those Shinigami. No, he would take the apples and plea for the Gods to give Ryuuzaki the life of a Shinigami. It would shake things up a bit.

* * *

><p>The King was awakened by a smell he could not identify. The Raven was circling distressed in the Hall of Thrones, a sight the Great King hadn't seen for many centuries. On the table next to the thrones, stood plates filled with food that resembled something he could only presume to be cake. Cake with pieces of apples.<p>

"No...not my breakfast." He mumbled upon seeing the feast.

A very stoic L stood next to the table. "Is it not to your satisfaction, Great King?"

"My precious apples! What have you done?"

"I take that as a 'no'."

"Why would you do such a thing?" The King asked after getting his breathing under control. "I will no longer be inclined to put in a good word for you!"

"You never were, the Slimey Shinigami told me all about his plans on getting me punished."

"That idiot! And where is he now? He was supposed to deliver me my apples in person" The King looked around as if expecting him to slither over at any given moment.

"He went to the Realm of the Living, I believe. For some reason he thinks that you plan on having him exterminated, so he decided to lay low for a while." L chuckled, then shrugged. "Strange how cunningness can turn into suspicion so fast."

"Get out." The King said, remarkably calm.

"Excuse me?" L replied.

"Get out! Get out get out get out!" The King kept screaming until the skeleton men dragged L's bony body out of the Hall of Thrones.

* * *

><p>The King of the Shinigami Realm felt small when surrounded by the Council of Gods. There were seven of them.<p>

"No, we are not sending him into The Realm of Absolute Nothingness." The first of the Gods said indignantly.

"Why question my recommendation, my Gods?" The King asked. "The least you can do is hear me out."

The Gods looked at one another, their faces sad, some shaking their heads. This brought upon The King of the Shinigami Realm an ominous feeling.

"What is wrong? What's going on?" He asked, though he feared the answer.

"We had the pleasure of meeting this Ryuuzaki. I even played a nice game of chess with him. We heard about the predicament he is in. Normally we would not mingle with these affairs. But..."

The oldest of the Gods continued

"You seem incapable of running the Realm any longer."

"What do you mean?" The King asked, eyes wide in shock.

Now all the Gods were shaking their heads solemnly. It was always sad when a King lost grip of the situation.

"Have you not noticed how many of your Shinigami are causing trouble on Earth? There are now over 50 Gods of Death roaming the Earth! This is ridiculous. We are trying to avoid getting noticed by humans. We are trying to avoid creating situations like the one Ryuuzaki is in. Or have you forgotten what it was like when we first appointed you?"

The King thought back on the chaos on both the Realms and nodded.

"You and your cursed appetite for apples."

"This Ryuuzaki warned us of your addiction."

The oldest one motioned for the others to be silent. "Ryuuzaki shall return to Earth. We believe he could clean up this mess that you have allowed to happen."

The Great King was King no longer.

* * *

><p>Light was in the privacy of his bedroom when it happened. A raven tapped against his window, a piece of paper lay in his beak.<p>

'Light, I am coming for you.'

* * *

><p>It has been a while since I last wrote a fic. This one was inspired by Darkingdomheart's first fic. He's new at writing fanfiction and could probably need some help from more experienced writers. So if you would be so kind to read and review his fic, I'd be grateful!<p> 


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